The Watch That Saves My Life Every Day

I love, love, LOVE this watch!! I recommend it to any and all of my clients who have issues with time management, ADD or being easily distracted.

I do believe it has saved my house from burning down countless times, as well as helps me parent my easily distracted kid.

The reason this watch is so different from any other watch is the "Countdown Timer" feature. (A feature that is, alas, not on the men's version of this watch!)

The countdown timer works simply: just press the upper right button once and it will set an alarm to go off in one minute. Press it twice and it will go off in three minutes. Press it thrice (LOVE saying thrice!), and it will go off in 5 minutes. You can press it up to seven times in a row to get an alarm up to 30 minutes in the future. (You can also set one alarm each day for a certain time: say you need to take a pill at noon each day.)

This little feature saves me from burning down the house when I leave the stove to go get the mail. I set my watch for one or three minutes, and if I get distracted by a neighbor, weeds or simply a squirrel (SQUIRREL!!) it starts beeping on cue and I remember to go back inside. I don't even have to look at the watch–I simply press the button and count how many times I press it.

It helps me parent because when I am being implored to let someone stay at the park "Just a few more minutes!" I can set my watch to 3 or 5 minutes and when it goes off, well, that's it. Can't argue with a watch like you can with your mom! (Well, OK you can argue, but it's a wee bit easier to say, OK, time's up!"

I know it's not the most stylish of watches. It harkens to 1978 very loudly. (Which was when, by the way, I bought a different digital watch with a seconds timer so I could time the prints and film I was developing in the darkroom. Oh, yeah, that dates me....)

The silver is a bit dressier and is the one I graduated to after I first bought the black plastic one. The gold one just looks a little too brassy for me, but it might work for someone. I wear mine every day and the finish does not seem to tarnish or wear off. They are also "Water Resistant."

All can be found cheaply online at Amazon (around $15) and I've seen them every so often at K-Mart or CVS for up to $25.00. Even the top price is well worth it in my estimation.

Casio Women's LA11WB-1 Daily Alarm Digital Watch

I receive no compensation from Casio or any other entity for my recommendation for this watch, nor do I sell this watch. Occasionally I give this watch to a client!

The OCD Chef Cutting Board

This was just too funny to not pass along...

This "OCD Chef" cutting board is available at ThinkGeek for $24.99.
I had a good chuckle when this came across in an e-mail today. I first thought it was a paper cutting board, but then realized it's for cutting your veggies (and whatever else) to very exacting measurements. Oh how Mr. Monk would love this! Saves you the time of getting your ruler out.

Please rest assured, I am not making fun of anyone--I think this is a grand product. While I am not OCD myself around cutting veggies, I do have my teeny tiny OCD-like issues. I won't use a salad fork, I only drink out of glass (or Tervis Tumblers now), my glasses need to be in height order in the cabinet and what is it with money coming out ATM's now not all facing the same direction?

Closet Clock

I am often humbled by my clients because they come up with the greatest ideas (and jealous because I didn't think of them first!).

While talking with a client today (I had suggested she put up more clocks in her home office) in our phone coaching session she mentioned that she had also put a clock in her bedroom closet.

What a fabulous, simple solution! She has a walk-in closet and she says sometimes she loses track of time in there because she gets busy organizing it. This helps her keep track of the time (just like in her office) and keep her more aware of how much time is passing.

When I googled "closet clock" I got a number of interesting items. While you certainly can use any kind of clock in your closet, I was curious to see if there were any clocks expressly made for closets. (Oh, maybe one that lights up would be nice!)

I thought the one pictured above would be funny whether you are a man or a woman. (You probably need a really healthy sense of humor if you are a man!) It's called "The Closet Closet Clock."

The other great idea I saw was using a weather clock in your closet. Now, these are a little cluttered-looking to me. I like a simple large clock with a big numbers and a easily seen hands. But a weather clock serves a great function–letting you know how to dress for the day! I often turn on the news in the morning to see what the day's weather is going to be or check my iPhone (but it's rarely in my bedroom since I sync or charge it with my computer in my home office) for the local weather forecast. (Click on images to be taken to the website where you can buy this clock. I'm not affiliated with any of these sites.)

Or you can just go with cute!
(This came from a great blog article on closet organizing at Fabulous After Forty.)

Or why not hang one of your many watches (I know you have them) up on a nail? I don't really have much wall space in my closet and the little strip of space I have would be perfect for a watch. (I found actual clocks that look like giant watches online. This one is a plan/components to make one yourself. I think you can find vintage ones on e-bay and Etsy.) Dad's or Grampa's giant old watch you inherited might be perfect for this.

 

Tom Hatton saves you the time (ha ha!) by making and selling these giant watches on Etsy:

What a wonderful design element for a man's closet!

Magnetic Door Stop

Just a quick tool tip today. I discovered this gadget when our family rented a house in Hawaii several years ago. This little door stop kept all the doors from slamming shut all the time when a breeze came through. Also handy for keeping the door open when you are bringing in armloads of groceries. It's like having your own doorman. That you don't have to tip! I love the one I installed at home.

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/home/improvements/57046-magnetic-door-stop.html

Ultralight Towel Field Testing

The Ultralight Towel Field Test has begun! After over a week of daily use (and sometimes two showers a day since we are at the beach), my towel has begun to show signs of wear. But please keep in mind, this is after several days of use! They are soft and absorbent, and the "beach towel" covers the body when coming in from the outdoor shower! I'll write more later.

Teleclass Tidbit-Working with Students with ADHD

Teleclass Tidbit

One bit of advice from last night's NSGCD class "Working with Students with ADHD" presented by Sacramento organizer Holly Graff, CPO®, was one I use myself.

The "Time-Timer" clock is a cool little (or big) gadget that lets you visually see how much time you have left for a project. Also available for your computer and now an iPhone app. http://www.timetimer.com/

Lightload towels--Earthquake kits?

I'm in the process of "field-testing" these ultra-light towels and will report on them in the coming weeks. So far, I like them. I think they will be a really great addition to earthquake preparedness kits. They come rolled into tiny "coins" (they have to be hydrated), are soft and best yet...inexpensive! My toughest critic (my 8 year-old daughter) is helping me in the testing!
See them here at Lightload Towels.

http://www.ultralighttowels.com
(I did receive some free review samples.)

Genius little grippers for hangers

 

I love these little sticky gel pads you put on hangers to keep things from slipping off. Genius! I got them for a client and I am using them too.   

Slip Grip...only about $3.00 for 20 grips which will be good for 10 hangers. I bought mine at Organize.com. http://www.organize.com/clear-slip-grip-self-adhesive-shoulder-holders.html

25 Creative Uses for Coffee Filters

I pilfered this from the Stacks and Stacks Facebook update, but it was so great I had to pass it on. I already tried two of them today! And I added one--used one for the veggie cuttings that I put in the compost bin. (I use un-bleached filters.)

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome… Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors..
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

I love my touchless soap dispenser!

I managed to find this dispenser at my local Ross for about $20. I just bought one to see how it would work. I love it! With cold season coming on and Swine Flu (H1N1) on everyone's lips (and hands), this is a nice little answer to having to touch something several times a day that everyone else in your family also touches. (Especially if one of your family members is an 8 year old.) And since I filled it with watered down dish soap, I can also quite easily get some soap into a dirty pan while holding the pan in one hand and the scrubber in the other.

This one from Simple Human retails for $40, but if you can find these puppies for less, I say they are a deal and an asset to your kitchen. I'll get a couple more--one for our guest bath and one for our own.


Product/Service Disclosure
(I paid for this item myself and receive no compensation from the maker.)

Rebel Without a Clock

Well, it was just so fortunate to find an image of a James Dean clock! Talk about synchronicity!

I'd like to take some time to talk about time...

For years, I was a rebel without a "Clock" or watch. Or really, without a routine. Clocks, watches, routines, all that stuff was just 'the 'man' keepin' me down." I'll show them. (I'm not sure who "them" is. Uh, who them are? Wow, that's a tricky one.)

I did feel that I was "rebelling" against something by not having routines. That I somehow was exerting my independence and freedom by doing this. Right...

Exerting my freedom to be always late for things...

Exerting my independence to make others wait for me...

Exerting my freedom and independence never to have enough time to do what I really wanted to do. Gee that's ironic. My rebellion against constructed time was keeping me from doing things?

Now, please remember, I am not perfect now. But I have changed some of my ways, my attitudes and my way of seeing things. My perceptions of time and routine. It's unfortunate that the word routine sounds so, well, routine. Like mundane.

A routine life does not sound like an exciting one.

But that's the thing. Life does not have to be routine or mundane. There are mundane things in life that need to be taken care of. And once they are....then let the excitement commence!

(And you can always interject some excitement even into the mundane, right? Try grocery shopping in a prom dress or watering the lawn in a ballet tutu. And of course you can always vacuum au natural--just keep the curtains closed or you might find getting thrown in the pokey part of your new routine!)

So, what are the mundane things in life?

Well, the usual suspects that keep us going: food and shelter. Grocery shopping, food preparation and keeping the housework up. (Keeping the housework up is not quite as important as feeding yourself, let's just get that straight. Food is first.)

Yes, you need to support your fun stuff by building a firm foundation. If you are fed, you have energy to do laundry. If you have clean clothes, you can get dressed and go to work to earn money to feed yourself. If you can earn money you can afford that roof over your head and the food in your tummy. Yes, it's quite the connected circle.

Now while I try, I know I can't solve all organizing issues in one blog. I just want to get you moving in a direction. Even if it's just to change your perception of something.

Let's take meal planning.

I have found that if some external structure is imposed on me, I do very well at meal planning and grocery shopping. If some scheduled activity lands me near the grocery store, then that's my day to do grocery shopping. When my DD was a just a toddler, the library held story-time on Wednesdays. Lovely, since the grocery store was just down the block. Wednesday became my grocery day. I cursed the library when they stopped story-time for the summer. (Damn those under-funded public institutions!) Yes, we did still manage to eat in the summer, but I had to look for another time structure.

Fast forward to when DD is in ballet class, held even closer to the grocery store, and she is now old enough to be left at class. Woo-hoo, a whole 45 minutes to run and do the grocery shopping! (Or nap in the car if really needed...)

What this structure does is remind me that, yes, I should do the meal planning the day or evening before, or at least while I am eating breakfast that morning. I sit with my giant family calendar and check our activities for each day that week and gauge my potential for crankiness each evening. (Should I have a frozen Amy's pizza at the ready or will I have the strength for a full-on stir-fry?) At my fingertips I have my grocery list ready as I mentally (or physically) check my pantry for the needed items. I use the "All Out Of" notepad from Knock Knock, which includes a section for vegetarian items. This is a great magnetic notepad I stick on the fridge. DH can check off things as he runs out (Yeah, it happens once in awhile. The theory is nice.) and I can too.

The wonderful thing about shopping once a week is that I am not tempted to shop more often and therefore waste more time and spend more money. If I know that I am shopping on Monday and we run out of peanut butter on Friday, then, heck, we just try and make it through the weekend without peanut butter, use up something else that is probably about to go bad in the fridge and spend that time doing something more fun. Like napping.

Summer always presents a problem since the lovely structure and routine of the school year is delightfully out of whack. I'm realizing (I am determined to not let summers get the best of me) that I need to re-evaluate the routine every week or every-other week.

Just a little forethought.

A little.

If I don't do a little forethought a week or two at a time, I have to think all the more each and every day and every hour of that silly day. But if the important stuff is planned and on the calendar, then I don't have too think so often. And that's the whole point. Not having to think so much about the mundane things. And having time (and brain power) to think about the fun or creative stuff.

Or take a nap.

That'll show them.

Watch for future blogs about the importance of getting enough sleep. :)